2195Hrs – Beaming Cold!

I only managed a 2 hour session today, the weather is at it’s worst right now, what do I mean? Well for me when it’s just above freezing, it’s raining, the sky is covered in thick blanket cloud and there’s a cold wind blowing I really feel it. I’d actually prefer much lower temperatures and a bit of sunshine. It’s neither one thing or the other, it’s just horrible.

Still, it is what it is and this is the UK in October, it’s to be expected, I just have to crack on and remember that I’m working on my means of escape from the next one!

What I wanted to do today was to glue on the second layer of 18mm ply to the centre beam web I put together yesterday. This I did although not without a slight cock-up when I applied my epoxy glue to the wrong side of two of the pieces! I blame the cold! The photos below show the stages, 1st I apply neat epoxy to both surfaces, then a coat of glue mix to one, then lay on the second layer and screw it down. In the last picture you can see the epoxy on top of the last two pieces from where I coated the wrong side.

Eric asked an interesting question in the comment he posted last night:

Do you ever think about the work you’re doing and how critical certain jobs are, and what the consequences would be if the part failed? Not to be morbid, but that’s some pretty serious work you’re doing!

To answer that question, yes, I always keep in mind that these bits of wood I’m glueing together will be all that keeps me and all I hold dear from, to come straight to the point, a watery grave. It’s not being morbid it’s being realistic. One of the main reasons I’m building a Tiki 38 is because of its sea keeping abilities and safety record. I believe someone once said of Mr Wharram that ‘he designs boats for conditions that the majority of owners will never experience’. Ultimately that’s the starting point for me, James Wharram is a genius, I have complete faith in the design that he and Hanneke came up with, I’ve now had that faith re-affirmed after sailing with Jacques on ‘Pilgrim’ and hearing him talk about the strength of the boat during his Atlantic Crossing. I know that all I have to do is follow the plans, use good quality materials and use them properly. So much of the work done on a Tiki 38 is hidden, it would be possible to take shortcuts and nobody would know but to do so would be unthinkable. There’s another big barn outside the one I’m building in and I often look at its 30ft grey wall and remind myself that ‘Gleda’ will one day be riding ocean waves that could easily be that high, I usually apply a bit more epoxy after that!

The point is that when ‘Gleda’ is launched I’ll know every inch of her, I’ll have complete faith in her, I’ll know I did a good job, to me that’s one of the joys of building.